With this type of apparatus, a carcass ply is formed as a band-shaped member by winding a sheet-shaped material, cut to a size of one tire, around a cylindrical drum, and butt-joining ends thereof (a wind start end and a wind finish end). To ensure the strength of a joint formed by butt joining, it is necessary to dispose cone-shaped joining rollers (toe-in roller devices) on both surfaces of the carcass ply and generate a pressing force strongly from both sides of the line of joining (or the joining line or joint line).
To attain the above-mentioned purpose, Patent Document 1, for example, discloses a structure in which drum segments (pieces) forming a cylindrical portion for supporting the ends of a carcass ply to be joined (hereinafter referred to as the joining ends or joint ends) are sequentially retreated in accordance with the movement of the joining apparatus, whereby joining can be performed accurately.
Patent Document 2 discloses a joining apparatus in which the joint ends of a carcass ply are held between a pressing member and a support roller having a spiral ridge to draw the ends to each other, and a restraint member for restraining overlapping or the like of the ends is disposed in the center, whereby joining can be performed accurately.
Further, Patent Document 3 discloses a joining apparatus in which the lower side of a carcass ply is supported by a receiving piece of a nearly T-shaped receiving body, while a dowel body (joining means) disposed on the upper side of the carcass ply is moved, with the supporting piece of the receiving body running in a small clearance of the carcass ply in a preceding manner, whereby joining can be performed accurately.